System for protecting banks, stores, and the like, against robbery, by gas and smoke



5. C. GOSS March 21, 1933.

STORES, AND THE LIKE,

SMOK

SYSTEM FOR PROTECTING BANKS,

AGAINST ROBBERY, BY GAS AND Filed May 6, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 21, 1933. B c 5955 1,901,959

SYSTEM FOR PROTECTING BANKS, STORES, AND THE LIKE,

AGAINST ROBBERY, BY GAS AND SMOKE v Filed May 6, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /J i @7 g 16 g2 fiazverat or: Q 0 2390mm C. 6053,

Patented Mar. 21, 1933 TES BYRON C. GOSS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO SYSTEM FOR PROTECTING BANKS, STORES, AND THE LIKE, AGAINST ROBBERY, BY GAS AND SMOKE Application filed May 6, 1931'.

This invention relates to a method of, and apparatus for, the protection of banks, 16W- elry stores, post ofiices, etc., and other places where valuables are kept, by means of devices which are adapted to liberate disabling, irritating, asphyxiating, and other types of gases used in the art of gas protection; the invention also contemplates the release of considerable volumes of chemicals which have the 19 property of generating dense opaque smoke, which smoke-producing chemicals may be initially discharged from the same cartridge that discharges the disabling gas, or from a separate cartridge which is discharged along with the gas containing cartridge; the combined effect of the mixed fume consisting of disabling gases and dens-e opaque smoke rendering the atmosphere so opaque that it is not possible for one to see, and also rendering the 20 atmosphere unbreath able due to the presence of the above referred to irritating disabling gases.

An object of the invention is to provide a method and means for protecting bank rooms, jewelry stores and similar places where money or valuables are kept, that will liberate large quantities of irritating or disabling gases, combined with dense opaque smoke fumes, in the bank room or store when an attack is made by robbers upon the vault or safe within said bank or store.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of and means for protecting banks, stores, and the like, when attacks are made upon the vault or safe by simultaneousil-y discharging irritating gases and dense opaque smoke both within the vault or safe, and also in the outer bank room or store.

A further object of the invention is to provide an outside gas box, suitably located upon the structure of the vault or safe, or elsewher in the bank room, and operated by a mechanism both within said safe, and also by a 1 mechanism within said outer gas box.

A further obj ect of the invention is to provide means for rendering the gas discharging mechanism temporarily inoperative, so that an accidental contact by a person with such mechanism will not discharge the gas bombs.

Serial No. 535,528.

Other objects of the invention will be ap parent to those skilled in the art upon the reading of the specification.

The invention described herein may be used in cooperation with the inventions disclosed in the U. S. Patents 1,600,223; 1,627,- 189; 1,736,206; 1,750,101;'1,787,007; 1,788,- 119; 1,788,120; 1,791,995; 1,792,010; and 1,792,023.

In bank protection systems of the type using gas as the protecting agent, the systems in general use provide for liberating the gas within" the bank vault, said gas being liberated by burning holes through the door of the safe or vault andthereby severing systems of tension wires which are threaded upon the door, or by other means, the seven ing of the tension wires releasing automatic devices which discharge the irritating and disabling gases within the safe or vault. The present invention aims to discharge such gases on the outside of the safe or vault, in the bank room or store, when attacks are made upon the door of said safe or vault, of when the attacks are made upon the receptacle which contains the gas bombs outsideof the vault, at the same time that the gas is discharged within the safe or vault. By discharging the irritating and disabling gases and dense opaque smoke fumes in the-bank room, the robbers attempting to open the safe are frequently obliged to discontinue their labors before much damage has been done to the mechanism of the vault or safe; and, by the simultaneous discharge of the gases and 85 smoke both within the safe and in the outer bank room, even if the robbers succeeded in opening the door of the safe, they would find the atmosphere within thesafe sofilled with gas and smoke that it would not be possible for them to enter and continue their acts of robbery.

It has happened that during attacks by robbers upon banks, the employees-have been compelled to enter the vault, and were locked 95 therein; the present invention provides a means whereby the mechanism of the gas discharge apparatus can be temporarily rendered inoperative sothat gas will not be liberated Within the vault while the employees 100 protection system is broken or severed.

are confined therein; means are also provided whereby said confined employees may while within said vault actuate an outside gas discharge box and flood the bank room with the disabling gases and dense opaque smoke fume, thereby incapacitating the robbers and preventing their unlawful acts, without discharging the gas within the vault.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view from the inside of a vault looking toward the vault door,- and also toward the vault wall adjacent said door;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of the outside of a vault or safe showing the door of the vault, and also showing an outside gas box upon the outer wall of the vault above the door;

Fig. 3 is a view from the inside of the vault looking toward the door and the adjacent wall showing a part of the apparatus in a discharged condition;

Fig. 4 is a View of the outside gas box just within the door, showing the wires and pulleys which are attached to the inner surface of the door of said box;

Fig. 5 is a partly broken View showing a part of the mechanism within the outside gas box, showing the wires upon the inner sur face of the door, and also showing knobs projecting from the inner surface of'the door toward the gas bombs within said box;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of a part of the apparatus within the outside gas box, showing the apparatus in the discharged condition;

Figs. 7 and 8 are modified forms of mechanism within the outside gas box, which gas box may be located at any suitable place, said modification being electro-magnetically actuated, Fig. 7 showing the mechanism in a discharged condition and Fig. 8 showing the mechanism before a discharge, and in the temporarily locked condition; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of a modified mechanism within the vault which cooperates with the modification shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

In Fig. 1 is illustrated diagrammatically a system of vault protection wiring placed on the inside of a vault door 1, the wiring arranged to actuate a locking bar 7, and also to cause the discharge of disabling irritating gases, including asphyxiating gases and dense opaque smoke, when the wire 4 of the The gases are discharged from gas and smoke bombs 15, of which three such bombs are shown. The wire 1, may consist of a single strand, or several strands may be suitably disposed upon the door in accordance with the accepted standards of systems of vault protection. The wire is suitably threadet. over pulleys 5 and is shown as being maintaincd under tension by the spring 6, connected to one end; the other end of the wire 1 is attached to a spring actuated locking bolt 7 suitably supported in brackets 3, the bolt 7 is shown in Fig. 1 is retracted, and is actuated by the spring 8 upon its release caused by the severing of the wire a. A safety lock bolt 9 serves to temporarily secure the locking bolt 7 when desired in the retracted position by engaging the loop 10 at the end of bolt 7; employees confined within the vault may thereby render the system inoperative.

The lower side of the locking bolt 7 is shown as provided with a suitable tongue 11, which when the bolt is retracted is adapted to engage and support a projection 12 on a pivoted lever 13, the latter being attached to a spring control discharge mechanism 1 1, which when actuated discharges the disabling gas and smoke bombs 15, 15, 15; the mechanism 14 may be of any standard type, for example, the type described in U. S. Patent 1,736,206, to which refe 'ence is made for a description of the operation and discharge of the gas and smoke bombs, may be used. Bombs 15 may be omitted in which case only the outside bombs 35 would be discharged.

On an inside wall 16 of the vault adjacent the edge of the door 1, is supported a pivoted lever 17, Figs. 1 and 3, suitably controlled by a light spring 21, having a projection 18 which latter engages a plunger 19 supported in brackets 20; the lower end of plunger 19 is attached to a wire 22, which latter is supported upon pulleys 23, and suitably threaded upon the inner vault wall 16, and finally passes through the wall and enters an outside gas box 2 1, shown placed upon the outside wall of the vault at any convenient place; in Figs. 1 and 2 the box 24 is shown as located upon the outer vault wall above the vault door 1. On one edge of the wall of the vault next to the door 1 is shown a suitable perforated plate 25 through which the locking bolt 7 passes and locks the door 1 of the ault when the bolt 7 is released by severing wire 4:.

During attempts to rob banks, the robbers frequently burn holes through the door 1 of the vault by use of acetylene flames; during the act of burning a hole through the door 1, the acetylene flame would burn off or sever the wire 4, and since said wire 4 is under tension the burning or severing of the same would cause the release of the bolt 7, the spring 8 drawing said bolt 7 forward and releasing the pivoted lever 13, Fig. .3, which latter in turn causes the mechanism within the cylinder 14 to operate and discharge the gas and smoke bombs 15, as described in Patent 136,206; the forward movement of the bar 7 by means of the spring 8 also causes the bar 7 to pass through the perforated plate 25 and lock the door, and also causes said bolt 7 to strike and move the pivoted lever 17, Figs. 1 and 3, the tongue 18 of lever 17 in its turn releasing the plunger 19 and providing slack for the tensionwire 22 which passes over pulleys 23 and threaded about the inner wall of the vault, said wire 22 passing through said vault wall and entering the outside gas box 24 as described above, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. 7 Within said outside gas box 24 the wire 22 is threaded over pulleys 26 upon the inside surface of the door 25 of said box 24, and is connected to a pivoted lever 27 Figs. 4, 5 and 6; the free end of said lever 27 passing through loop 28 on the end of a spring actuated plunger 29 which when released by the slack in the wire 22 slips from the free end of the lever 27, Fig. 6, and discharges the gas and smoke bombs 35 in a similar manner to the discharge of the bombs described above, the spring of the actuated plunger 29 being enclosed in the cylinder 14.

The outside gas box 24 including its cover 25 is made of a special type of drill-proof hardened steel, and-on the inner wall of the door 25 are placed pulleys 26, Figs. 4 and 5, over which is threaded the wire 22, the end of the wire 22 being connected to the pivoted lever 27 described above. Should the door 25, Fig. 5, of box 24 be burned through by an acetylene flame, the wire 22 will be severed and lever 27 will drop, Fig. 6, releasingthe plunger 29 and thereby discharge the gas and smoke bombs 35, as described above. The walls of the box 24 are provided with vent holes 51 and a vent slot 52 through which the released gas and smoke passes and enters the bank room. Upon the inner surface of the door 25 are placed knobs 50, Fig. 5, located opposite and close to vulnerable parts of the bombs 35, so that if the door 25 should be struck with a heavy hammer, the blows from the hammer would drive the knobs 50 against the bombs and rupture the same, releasing the gas and the smoke. The blows from the hammer would also probably dislodge the wire 22 from the pulleys 26, thereby providing enough slack in wire 22 to release the plunger 29 and discharge the bombs 35.

The modification of the outside gas box 24 illustrated in Figs. 7 8 and 9, is actuated electrically, and tension wire 22 is not required. In this modification, the gas box 24 may be located at any convenient place. In Figs. 1,

3, and 9, are shown wires 41 and 43, contact 42, and battery 44; the contact 42 is placed in a position to make contact with the arm 17 which as shown in Fig. 9 is controlled by a light spring 21, when said arm 17 is driven back by the forward movement of the bolt 7 to positions indicated by the dotted line in Figs. 1 and 9, and to the position of arm 17 shown in Fig. 3, at which position arm 17 closes the circuit with contact 42; wire 41 is suitably connected to the arm 17, the other ends of the circuit being connected to the magnet 45 shown in Figs. 7 and 8. lVithin the box 24, Figs. 7 and 8, is pivoted the lever 46, said lever being free at one end, and provided with a hook 47 at the other end, the hook 47 engaging a hook-shaped armature 48 as shown in Fig. 8; the free end of the lever 46 engaging the loop 28 on the spring controlled plunger 29; when the battery circuit is closed due to the arm 17 closing the circuitwith contact 42, Fig. 3, the magnet 45 is energized, withdrawing the armature 48, Fig. 7, thereby releasing the lever 46 and allowing the spring controlled plunger 29 to slip from the free end of lever 46, thereby discharging the bombs 35 in the manner described above in connection with Figs. 4, 5, and 6.

While it is preferred to discharge both gas and smoke bombs both inside and outside of the vault, the invention also contemplates actuating gas bombs only at either or both locations.

In Figs. 4, 6, 7, and 8, are illustrated diagrammatically a lock .30 and lock bar 31, and on the body of the plunger 29 is shown a recess 33 adapted to engage the free end of lock bar 31; the lock 30 and lock bar 31 are suitably support-ed upon the door 25 of box 24, and located so that when said door 25 is locked, the bar 31 engages the edge of box 24 and thereby locks the door as shown in Figs. 6 and 7; upon unlocking the door the bar 31 is turned by the lock 30 so that the free end of bar 31 engages the recess 33 of plunger 29 as shown in Figs. 4 and 8', thereby preventing the accidental discharge of the bombs 35 when the door 25 is open and an operator is working upon the mechanism within the box.

Should employees be locked in the vault by robbers during a daylight robbery, the employees should first insert bolt 9 in loop 10, thereby locking the gas discharge in the vault, and thereafter the employees should move the arm 17 so as to either release the bar 19, or close the electric contact at 42, to discharge the gas and smoke in the outside bank room.

I claim 1. A system for gas and smoke protection for. vaults and the like as described, comprising avented box located outside of the vault, gas and smoke bombs within said box, releasable discharge mechanism in said box to discharge said bombs, a door for said box, a lock on said door to secure said door to said box, cooperating means on said discharge mechanism to be engaged by said lock when saiddoor is unlocked and thereby render said discharge mechanism inoperative, and said lock arrangedto be disengaged from said discharge mechanism when said door is locked.

i 2. In a system for gas and smoke protection for vaults and the like, an outside casing provided with unobstructed perforations. said perforations establishing a permanent communication from within the casing to its the outer atmosphere, bombs containing gas and smoke charges in said casing, and means comprising lugs on a wall within said casing adapted upon impact delivered upon the outside of the casing to destroy said bombs and liberate said gas and smoke.

3. A system for gas and smoke protection for vaults and the like as described, comprising a gas and smoke bomb discharge device located inside of the vault, a gas and smoke bomb discharge device located outside of said vault, a first actuating mechanism to operate said inside bomb discharge device, a secondary actuating mechanism adapted to operate said outside bomb discharge device, said secondary mechanism normally actuated by the operation of said first mechanism, said secondary mechanism also constructed to be manually operated from within the vault and thereby rendered ellective to discharge said outside bomb device independently of the operation of said first mechanism and while said first mechanism is restrained.

, 4. In a system for gas and smoke protection for Vaults and the like as described, the combination comprising a first tension wire, an inside bomb, a locking bar, a first lever constructed to engage and disengage said locking bar, said first lever connected by a second tension wire to said inside bomb, said first lever when disengaged adapted to cause the discharge of said first bomb, said locking bar normally restrained from actuation by said first tension wire, an outside bomb, as sociated elements adapted to discharge said outside bomb and including a second lever, said second lever adapted to be displaced by said locking bar when said locking bar is released, said associated elements adapted to be rendered effective to cause the discharge of said outside bomb when said second lever is displace-d by said locking bar, said second lever also constructed to be independently manually operable to cause the discharge of said outside bomb when said locking bar is restrained.

5. In a system for gas and smoke protection for vaults and the like as described, the combination comprising a first tension wire, a locking bar, said locking bar normally restrained from actuation by said first tension wire, an outside bomb, cooperating elements adapted to discharge said outside bomb and including a lever, said lever adapted to be displaced by said locking bar when said locking bar is released, a second tension wire, one end of said second tension wire associated with said lever, the other end of said second tension wire connected withsaid outsidebomb, all of said cooperating elements adapted to be rendered effective to cause the discharge of said outside bomb when said lever is displaced by said locking bar, said lever so constructed as to be independently manually operable to cause the discharge of said outside bomb while said locking bar is restrained.

6. In a system for gas and smoke protection for vaults and the like as described, the combination comprising a tension wire, a locking bar, said locking bar normally restrained from actuation by said tension wire, a lever adapted to be displaced by said locking bar when said locking bar is released, and electric circuit and contacts, said contacts adapted to be closed and complete said electric circuit when said lever is displaced, all of said associated elements adapted to be rendered effective to cause the discharge of an outside bomb when said lever is displaced by said locking bar and said electric circuit thereby closed, said lever so constructed as to be independently manually operable to close said electric circuit and to cause the discharge of said outside bomb while said locking bar is restrained.

7. In a system for gas and smoke protection for vaults and the like as described, the combination comprising a tension wire, a locking bar, said locking bar normally restrained by said tension wire, a manually operable latch, said locking bar adapted to be engaged by said latch and held thereby in an inoperative position, a bomb, said bomb adapted to be discharged when said tension wire is severed and said locking bar thereby released.

In testimony whereof I hereby afiix my signature.

BYRON C. GOSS. 

